The AG RESEARCH Act addresses decades of neglected maintenance at agricultural research facilities across the United States by establishing a competitive federal grant program to help fund repairs, upgrades, and equipment purchases. The bill notes that deferred maintenance at agricultural research facilities has grown from $8.4 billion in 2015 to $11.5 billion in 2021, threatening America's competitive edge in agricultural innovation—an industry that contributed $1.53 trillion to the economy and 22 million jobs as of the early 2020s. To address this backlog, the bill provides $1 billion annually in mandatory federal funding from October 2025 through October 2029, along with additional appropriations authorized through fiscal year 2030, with the Secretary of Agriculture administering the grants through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The law requires that grants be distributed fairly across different states, institution types, and research areas, with no single state receiving more than 20 percent of available funds, and the federal government can cover up to 100 percent of project costs when circumstances warrant.
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